Wolpertinger

The name used today may vary slightly depending on the region; it is also known as Wolperdinger, Woipertinger, Woiperdinger, Volpertinger, Walpertinger, or Wulpertinger.

In parts of Lower Bavaria, the mythical creature is called Oibadrischl; in the Upper Palatinate, Rammeschucksn; and in Lower Austria and parts of Salzburg, the term Raurackl is common in various spellings. The author Ludwig Ganghofer referred to the creature as Hirschbockbirkfuchsauergams. The Brothers Grimm recount in their German Collection of Legends a creature called Kreißl in 1753, and the linguist Johann Andreas Schmeller also noted its proximity to the modern German word kreischen (to shriek).

The origin of the term Wolpertinger remains unclear. Bernd E. Ergert, director of the German Hunting and Fishing Museum in Munich, traces the term back to glassmakers from the village of Wolterdingen near Donaueschingen. They produced schnapps glasses in the shape of animals, commonly called Wolterdinger. Through phonetic erosion, this supposedly evolved into Wolpertinger. Another explanation is offered by the 1994 edition of the Großer Brockhaus, volume 24: According to this, Wolpertinger is related to the dialectal term Walper, a corruption of Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night).